James A. Garfield, (sculpture).

James A. Garfield, (sculpture).

Baughman, Daniel Brice, 1874-1954, sculptor.

James A. Garfield, (sculpture).

Dedicated Sept. 19, 1914. Removed July 2008.

Sandstone, painted white.

Approx. life size.

(On front of base:) GARFIELD (On side:) DEDICATED SEPt. 19. 1914/IN HONOR/G.A.R./COLUMBUS

A standing portrait of Garfield holding a scroll in his right hand. The sculpture was formerly installed in the middle of a circular driveway in Baughman Memorial Park.

Portrait male -- Garfield, James A. -- Full length

Occupation -- Political -- President

Hiram College, 11715 Garfield Road, Hiram, Ohio 44234

Formerly administered by Longaberger Company, Dresden, Ohio

Formerly located Baughman Memorial Park, State Route 586, Muskingum County, Ohio

Acquired July 2008.

Baughman Memorial Park in rural Muskingum County, Ohio was a sculpture park created between the 1880s and the late 1920s by Daniel Brice Baughman, a local undertaker whose hobby was stone carving. The self-taught Baughman, who liked to carve portraits, started out carving faces and other motifs on the area's rocky outcroppings, and eventually perfected his skills with free standing portraits of presidents and military figures. All of the carvings made by Baughman were located on the hillside property of his father's farm. As the sculpture collection grew, the area became known as Baughman Park. During the 1920s through the 1940s, it was well known as a popular place to picnic. In 1931, Ohio governor Vic Donahey officially dedicated the hillside property as Baughman Memorial Park. When the elderly Baughman moved to Dresden, the park property was sold and turned it into a camping ground. It was sold again and turned into a religious retreat for teenagers. And, by the time the property was sold again, it was showing signs of vandalism and neglect. In 1997, the property was acquired by the Longaberger Company, which fenced the property and added security. In February 2008, the Longaberger Company sold the property to Kevin Morehouse, a logging company owner from Hanover. However, when restoration of the sculptures proved too costly, he sold the property and the sculptures in July 2008 though separate auctions conducted by Kiko Auctioneers of Canton, Ohio. The Baughman Memorial Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

At the July 2008 auction, Hiram College purchased the sculpture of James A. Garfield, a former president of the college.

The Sept. 19, 1914 dedication ceremony celebrated two sculptures --the portrait of McPherson (IAS record 71500607) dedicated to the Frazeysburg G.A.R. and a portrait of James A. Garfield dedicated to Columbus G.A.R.

Keirns, Aaron J., "Statues on the Hill," Howard, OH: Little River Publishing, 2001 (booklet), pg. 42-45.

Muskingum County Historical Society, 2018.

Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, OH), July 16, 2008.

Keirns, Aaron J., "Statues on the Hill," Howard, OH: Little River Publishing, 2001 (booklet), pg. 42.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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